For the love of our oceans

As swimmers, we value our oceans above all. Not only do we understand how important their health is to our eco-system, but we also have a personal relationship with them. For us, they’re a sanctuary, a sanity-saviour, a reset – a place to go for joy and better health.

We’re also consumers. And while we understand that our buying choices have an impact on the health of our oceans, it can be hard to navigate those choices. That’s where businesses can step in to make it easier for consumers to choose wisely for the environment.

When she set up Deakin & Blue, Rosie wanted sustainability to be at the heart of her business – as in, it wasn’t even a question.

Here she explains how D&B takes responsibility for everything from design and production to retail and the life-cycle of our products, and offers some tips for making sure that the places you shop are doing the same.

D&B: sustainable for life

You’ve heard the mantra, ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’? Well, the first step of being a responsible consumer is simply to consume less.

That might be tricky for a product retailer to acknowledge. But D&B works on the idea that you invest in a swimsuit that is better made and better quality and offer a repair service to extend its life.

“It’s about changing our relationship with our swimwear,” says D&B founder Rosie Cook. “Instead of buying new swimwear every year, you have a piece that lasts and lasts. You look after it, you enjoy it and you get it repaired if it gets damaged.

“Our pieces are classic in design and we don’t launch lots of new designs. This helps break that fast-fashion mentality of having something new every summer or every holiday. They’re also made from fabrics that are twice as resistant to chlorine, sun cream and oil as standard Lycra® so that our swimsuits last.”

Sustainable practices

We know that the way in which products are made has a huge environmental and humanitarian impact. Being on the opposite end of the production spectrum from fast-fashion brands’ business model of pile ‘em high and sell ‘em cheap means thinking about everything from concept to retail.

“All our swimwear is made from a yarn called ECONYL®,” says Rosie. “It’s completely regenerated nylon fibre made from post-consumer waste like old fishing nets and industrial plastic.

“We work with Oeko-Tex® certified suppliers who are environmentally and socially responsible - they pay fairly, use chemicals safely and minimise waste where possible.

“All our swimwear’s made in a small production studio here in London – we chose them because they offer premium craftsmanship and a safe and fair working environment.

“Once you’ve bought your D&B swimwear, we send it to you in reusable and recyclable packaging materials. For example, our tissue paper uses soy-based ink and is printed on acid-free forest-friendly paper.”

Giving back

Another way to off-set consumerism is by giving back. Deakin & Blue regularly partners with organisations such as Love the Oceans, donating profits to support their work.

“This year, we’re supporting Love the Oceans for World Ocean Day,” says Rosie. “It’s a non-profit marine conservation who work in Jangamo Bay in Mozambique. They’re supporting the community to protect and study its marine life with the goal is of making it a Marine Protected Area.

“We’ll be giving all our profits from sales of our dry bag in June to Love the Oceans.”

How you can help?

Do you want to be a more responsible consumer? Here are Rosie’s top tips for ocean-friendly shopping:

1. Reduce the amount that you buy. Ask yourself, do you really need it?
2. Invest – remember that cheap is a false economy and quality products are less likely to need replacing, and that means less waste.
3. Buy and sell second-hand. One way of recycling good-quality pre-loved products is by selling or passing them on.
4. Check the eco-credentials of the places you shop. The Ethical Consumer website is a good place to start.
5. Plastic comes last. Plastic, especially micro-plastics, play havoc with our oceans. Look for plastic-free materials in products and packaging.